


hide your love away

by gryvon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Getting Together, M/M, Omega Tony Stark, Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22064245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryvon/pseuds/gryvon
Summary: Tony was unprepared to fall in love with Bucky Barnes.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 24
Kudos: 744
Collections: 2019 WinterIron_Holiday_Exchange





	hide your love away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reioka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reioka/gifts).



> From the prompt:  
> Bucky keeps waking up to sticky-notes with little hearts on them plastered to his metal arm. He sleuths his way through the tower to figure out who is leaving them. Tony sweats and keeps hiding in other Avengers' rooms in terror because oh no what if Bucky doesn't like it/him. Bucky has an unfortunately bitchy face when he's on a mission, after all.

The thing is, Tony knows Steve’s bringing his long-lost pal down to the workshop so Tony can fix Barnes’s arm. He knows pretty much everything there is to know about Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th and the Howling Commandos thanks to Howard’s obsession with all things Captain America. He can practically recite Barnes’s very impressive service record. The man certainly knows his way around a gun. Some of the shots he’s said to have made during the war are damn impressive. Tony’s spent his life around people who know how to shoot. As a sniper, Barnes is legendary.

Tony’s watched the footage from the fights in DC, so he knows exactly what kind of devastation the Winter Soldier is capable of. He’s read everything SHIELD had on the Winter Soldier, every rumored hit, every HYDRA mission. After some digging into Secretary Pierce’s records and using HYDRA’s backdoors into SHIELD to hack HYDRA, he knows some of the truly horrific things HYDRA did to make Barnes into the Winter Soldier.

He even knows, thanks to Natasha pulling him aside while Steve was recovering in DC, that the Winter Soldier killed his parents.

That had been... bad. He hadn’t taken the news well, but Natasha, Clint, and Thor had been there for him through the crying and screaming and begging for a drink to numb the pain.

HYDRA’s records on the Winter Soldier had gone a long way to helping him forgive Barnes.

None of that—absolutely none of that—prepares him for the moment James Barnes walks through the workshop doors. It’s like all the Omega hormones in Tony’s body sit up and take very sudden notice. He knows, logically, philosophically, that Barnes is an Alpha but he had not realized until this exact second that Barnes is _an Alpha_. The kind of Alpha with muscles upon muscles and a brooding frown and a metal arm that Tony wants to feel pressed against his skin. He wants to roll right over and present himself in hopes that Alpha Barnes takes him in the manliest of fashions.

He does none of that. Instead, he lets out a barely perceptible squeak and turns to rearrange the tools he’d set out.

“Hey, Tony,” Steve says, the smile on his face carrying through into his tone. “Are you still okay with looking at Bucky’s arm?”

Tony nods and waves to the table he’s setup, not trusting his voice. He knows if he opens his mouth, he’ll say something stupid like asking Barnes if he’d let Tony ride his knot. Tony’s fairly certain that Barnes doesn’t need sexual harassment on top of the rest of the mass fuckery that is his life right now.

Mechanics. Mechanics are a thing he can focus on. Shiny chrome and wires and gears that have absolutely nothing to do with how badly he wants to suck Barnes’s cock. Or have Barnes suck his cock. Or anything at all to do with cocks and touching and-

Yeah, he needs to stop.

Barnes stretches his arm over the table. Tony taps the table with a precision screwdriver while he plans his attack.

“J, start scanning.” A 3D model appears in the air next to him, rendering the arm as JARVIS scans it. Several of the plates are dented. He removes those first and passes them off to DUM-E so JARVIS can fabricate replacements. Barnes watches both Tony and the bots warily, his eyes wide and his flesh hand tight in Steve’s grip. All the while, Steve talks to Barnes, telling him about the bots and narrating what Tony’s doing with commentary about all the technological marvels Tony’s introduced Steve to since he came off ice.

Tony tries to smile at Barnes but it comes out crooked. He hopes his Omega pheromones provide some comfort. It’s an instinct that he spent years breaking himself of, but for Barnes he’s willing to relax and project a calming scent, or at least an attempt at one. He doesn’t get to play up his Omega side much.

It seems to work. Barnes visibly relaxes. He stares at Tony with an unvoiced question on his lips. Steve smiles his thanks and launches into a story about the first time he’d met Tony’s bots.

Tony focuses on the work in front of him. It doesn’t take long. The whole arm’s a mess, but there’s nothing for that besides building Bucky a new arm. He already has the barebones schematics configuring themselves in the back of his head. He’s going to need to call in Cho for the wet-work, maybe get Bruce to consult.

He has no idea how long it is before DUM-E brings the fabricated plates over. Tony cleans up the last bit of wiring before sealing the arm back up.

“It’s not ideal,” Tony says, focusing on Steve, “but it’ll do for now. I’ll need Barnes to come back down in a few days once I finish machining some new parts.” He glances at Barnes, then quickly looks away before he gets lost in those stormy blue eyes. “If anything malfunctions before then, let me know and I’ll take a look.”

Steve claps Tony on the shoulder. “Thank you, Tony. We really appreciate it.”

Barnes says nothing as Steve herds him out of the room, but his eyes track Tony until the very last second. The doors swish shut behind them. Tony leans back in his chair with a heavy sigh.

“I am so fucked, JARVIS.” He groans and rubs his face with one hand. “Why does Barnes have to be so hot? Fuck. I shouldn’t have a crush on the assassin who killed my parents. That’s all kinds of wrong, am I right?”

There’s a pause before JARVIS responds. “I don’t believe it’s my place to say, sir.”

Tony glares at one of the ceiling cameras. “You are no help, JARVIS. No help. I’m blaming all future awkward assassin-related boners on you.”

“I live to serve, sir.”

Tony sighs and spins in his chair. The 3D model of Barnes’s arm taunts him. He hops to his feet and claps his hands. “All right, boys, look alive. Daddy’s got some science to do.”

He’s going to build Barnes the best damn arm science has ever seen and if, one day, he talks Barnes into fingering him with it, well, that’s just a happy bonus.

* * *

Tony pauses at the end of the kitchenette, his fresh cup of coffee forgotten for the moment. He stares at the beautiful sight before him. Bucky’s fallen asleep in the living room. He’s sitting upright, with his head resting against the back of the couch. He looks like he’s only closed his eyes for a moment but he doesn’t stir in the several minutes Tony stands staring. It’s a bit creepy, he realizes, to stare at someone he’s hardly said three words to, but he can’t help it. He’s entranced.

He sets his coffee aside and grabs the sticky note pad from the counter. It’s late. Very late and he’s been working for too long. Sleep-deprived insanity is the only excuse he can come up with for the hearts he draws on the sticky note before pressing it carefully to the metal of Bucky’s arm.

Tony holds his breath, waiting for Bucky to wake and demand to know what Tony’s doing.

Bucky’s breathing is steady and even. He doesn’t even twitch.

Tony retrieves his coffee and pulls out his phone. He heads for the stairs down to his lab but doesn’t get far before JARVIS takes over his phone.

“Sir, it seems Master Barnes has found your note and is heading your way.” The accompanying video shows a frowning Barnes marching out of the living room like he’s about to murder someone. That someone is probably Tony. Pepper will be very upset if he gets murdered over something this stupid, so he does the only logical thing and ducks into the nearest door.

He moves as fast as he can through the dark apartment without spilling his coffee and ducks around the corner and behind another door. There’s silence for about thirty seconds, then someone—Bucky—starts knocking on the door. Another voice curses nearby. Tony takes a deep drink from his mug. It does nothing to help steady his nerves but at least it leaves less liquid in the mug for his shaking hands to spill.

“What?” Clint’s voice is surly.

“Did you-“ Bucky starts to ask, then cuts himself off with a sigh. “Never mind.”

“Whatever.” Tony hears the door shut. There’s a faint shuffling as Clint moves through the apartment. The door Tony’s hiding behind opens. Tony starts to babble an excuse, but Clint shakes his head. “I don’t care. If you’re staying, get in bed. Otherwise, leave.”

Clint shuffles back to his bed without waiting for an answer and falls face-first onto the mattress. Tony shrugs. He’s way overdue for some sleep and he never turns down cuddles. He drains the mug and sets it on the dresser along with the contents of his pockets. As soon as Tony slides under the covers, Clint shifts over to half-drape himself over Tony—mindful not to put pressure on the arc reactor—and buries his face in Tony’s neck. Then Clint’s fast asleep and Tony’s rapidly fading as well.

* * *

Tony wakes feeling surprisingly refreshed. Clint's long gone from his bed but his scent lingers. Rather than do something embarrassing like curl up around Clint's pillow, Tony forces himself out of bed. He yawns and stretches before retrieving his things from the dresser. His mug is gone, probably returned to the communal kitchen.

He stops in the penthouse for a shower and a change of clothes. There's no one in the common area when he stops by to make his breakfast smoothie. He retreats to his workshop and gets lost in the designs for a replacement arm for Bucky.

Bruce drags him upstairs for dinner. Tony ends up sitting across from Bucky, which wouldn't be terrible except Bucky is staring at him. Tony is instantly certain that Bucky knows Tony put the Sticky note on his arm. Tony's going to die.

Tony doesn't die. Bucky doesn't say a single word to any of them during dinner. He barely takes his eyes off Tony but none of the utensils end up stabbed through Tony's eye so he counts that as a win.

He escapes back to his lab as soon as he clears his plate. Unfortunately, he forgot to grab coffee so he has to venture out again an hour later.

Bucky is once again sleeping in the common room. It looks like he fell asleep reading. The book rests open on his lap.

Tony knows he shouldn't do it. He knows this, but he still ends up with a pen in his hand. He's unsure what to write. He doesn't want to draw another heart. He feels the need to say something, since his mouth doesn't want to work when they're in the same room together.

_Your eyes remind me of a storm over the sea._

He drinks one cup of coffee while pondering the note and takes a second to go.

"Sir.” JARVIS’s tone is enough to tell Tony he has a pissed off Winter Soldier incoming. 

He darts through the nearest door and gives Natasha a pleading look. “Hide me.”

She sighs and points to the bedroom door. Tony rounds the corner and ducks into her closet for good measure. He leaves the door cracked enough that he can hear Bucky knocking. He doesn’t hear their conversation, but the apartment door shuts a minute later.

Natasha is alone when she opens the door to her closet. She arches an eyebrow at Tony and asks, “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” he squeaks.

Her eyes narrow.

“Nothing bad!” He holds up his hands and eases around her out of the closet. The last thing he needs right now is to spill coffee on her shoes. She stares until he adds, “I left him a note. Notes, technically. There’s been two now but the one was just a heart doodled on a sticky note and the other was a compliment about his eyes, so really, I don’t see how that’s anything bad, certainly nothing that would make Barnes try to hunt me down and murder me with a spoon.”

Natasha’s eyes grow wider the longer he rambles. When he finally pauses for breath, she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “You have a crush on the Winter Soldier.”

The way she says it makes it sound less like a question and more like a statement of fact which, rude, calling him out like that.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Tony asks. He drops to sit on the edge of her bed and takes a long pull from his coffee.

Natasha sits next to him and leans against his shoulder. “It’s not horrible. He was a good man once.”

Tony turns toward her. “Not anymore?”

“Are any of us good?”

He doesn’t know what to say to that. He knows he isn’t. He was the Merchant of Death. He’s got more red in his ledger than Natasha does. He wants to say the others are good, certainly better than him, but they’ve all done things they’re not proud of. Natasha was an assassin. Bruce blames himself for every person the Hulk has killed. Clint still has nightmares about what he did under Loki’s control. Even Steve’s killed people while fighting in World War II. Those people were mostly Nazis, but Steve has spent his share of sleepless nights wandering the Tower.

“Want to watch a movie?” Tony says instead.

“Of course, котенок.”

* * *

It’s become a problem, Tony and his love notes. He’s started leaving them elsewhere—inside the book Bucky’s been reading, in his coat pocket, on the back of his favorite cereal box, slipped under his door. Tony even bought special sticky notes and calligraphy markers. He uses the ones shaped like hearts most often, but the stars and bears make appearances.

Bucky’s started stalking the halls. Tony knows Bucky is looking for him but he just can’t bring himself to either face Bucky or stop.

He’s hopeless. He’s a lost cause.

“Sir, Sergeant Barnes is heading your way,” JARVIS warns.

Tony squeaks and ducks through a door just as it opens. He narrowly avoids colliding with Steve but he manages to slide around the super soldier and into his apartment.

“Hi, Steve. I just need to-“

“Nope.” Steve grabs the back of Tony’s collar and picks him up like an unruly kitten. Tony squeaks even louder in protest and considers hissing at Steve like an actual cat, but it’s too late. Steve swings him around and deposits Tony back in the hallway, dropping him right in front of a startled-looking Barnes.

“Stop being idiots,” Steve says and closes the door before Tony can try to escape.

Tony and Bucky stare at each other. Bucky’s eyes are wide, like he didn’t expect to actually catch up with Tony.

“Please don’t kill me,” Tony blurts. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry if-“

“I’m not,” Bucky says quickly, the words escaping in one breathless rush. Tony’s mouth snaps shut. “Offended, that is,” Bucky clarifies. “By the notes.”

“Oh.”

“Is that why you ran?”

Tony nods. “You looked very murderous. I assumed you didn’t like it but I couldn’t make myself stop.”

“Why?”

Tony almost wishes Bucky had murdered him. It would have saved him the awkwardness of this conversation. His mouth hangs open and he can’t think of a good lie. Bucky is staring at him, expression inching toward murderous but probably actually just resting bitch face.

“Imay-b-li-ou,” Tony mumbles. His entire face turns red in embarrassment.

Bucky keeps staring at him. He doesn’t even blink. It’s kind of creepy.

“What?” Bucky says, finally.

Tony wishes a black hole would open up and swallow him so he didn’t have to admit his disastrous feelings a second time. He looks away, staring down the empty hallway and rubs the back of his head. “I, uh, may, in fact, like you. Just a bit. I mean, you’re interesting, is all. In a deadly hot Alpha way but also in a I want to learn more about you but not like, reading your files way because I’ve done that but like what your favorite food is and what kind of movies do you like and where you like to go on dates and that sort of thing. Which is weird and creepy, I know, and you’re probably straight, so, like, please don’t hit me, I would never... I mean, I’m not going to throw myself at you, that’d be weird and rude and-“

Tony’s unfortunate word vomit is cut off by a pair of warm lips pressing over his own.

Then Bucky’s pulling away and he’s got an amused smile on his face. He doesn’t look the slight bit murderous which means....

“Oh.”

Bucky’s flesh hand wraps around Tony’s hand, gently tugging him down the hallway, away from Steve’s door. “You sure talk a lot, don’t you?”

Tony looks away. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Didn’t say it was a bad thing. Let’s me know what you’re thinking. I need to get in the habit of talking more, myself. Least, that’s what Steve says.”

Bucky’s words have a hint of Brooklyn in them, the accent thickening the more he says.

“I wouldn’t mind talking to you more,” Bucky says. “I’d like to learn more about you too. Maybe we could do that sometime over dinner. Or Steve says you gave him a list of stuff he might like to watch, help him catch up with the current century.”

Tony turns back to stare at Bucky with something close to awe.

“Maybe you could show me some of your favorites, when you’re free.”

“I’m free now,” Tony says, then thinks better of it. “But, I’m assuming you’re not. Which is fine. Totally fine. We can do that whenever. Well, not whenever, whenever. I’ve got some meetings tomorrow and Pepper-“

He sees Bucky lean in but that doesn’t help him stop his rambling until Bucky’s lips press gently against his once more.

“I’ve got some time,” Bucky says. His smile is warm like a summer’s day. Tony wants to put that on a sticky note and leave it in Bucky’s shoes. He might, later.

“Okay.”

Bucky leads them back to the common room. He pushes Tony down onto the couch and then heads into the kitchen, coming back a minute later with a cup of coffee for Tony and a soda for himself.

Tony takes a sip. It’s exactly how he likes it.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one paying close attention.

“Have you seen Star Wars?” Tony asks.

Bucky’s shoulder is a warm line against Tony’s. “I have not.”

Tony grins. He shifts, pulling his feet up underneath him and leaning more fully against Bucky. “J, queue us up.” He grins at Bucky. “I hope you’ve got a few hours to spare.”

“Doll, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

**Author's Note:**

> котенок = kitten (Russian)


End file.
